Here Comes Your Man
by OhNeptune
Summary: Bella, Rosalie and Alice need one more roommate. The new drummer in Jake's band needs a place to stay. What could possibly go wrong, right? AH, Canon Pairings.
1. You'll Never Wait So Long

I dropped the last box onto the old, worn carpet with an unceremonious grunt. It was absurdly humid and I was covered in a film of sweat and dust. Pulling my hair back from my face, I turned to see Jake awkwardly maneuvering my air conditioning unit through the door. Thank God.

"Wait, why didn't we bring that in first?" I asked.

"Because your stubborn ass insisted it was necessary to get all of your vinyl in the room before anything else," he huffed.

Oh, right.

"And tell me again why Alice and Rose couldn't help with the move-in process?" he inquired while hoisting the cumbersome machine into my window.

"Oh, come on. Alice weighs less than half of one of these boxes and Rose wouldn't risk breaking a nail. They're out getting supplies for dinner."

"Supplies for dinner meaning ten boxes of Franzia, I assume."

"How dare you! We would never drink boxed wine," I retorted, appalled at this assumption. I mean, really, the lowest we've ever stooped was Yellow Tail's cabernet sauvignon.

"Of course, how silly of me."

I collapsed on my futon while Jake plugged in the AC unit. Once it was on full blast, he crumpled down next to me, letting out a sigh of relief.

"You just had to move into some creepy old house with no central air and a ridiculous flight of stairs, didn't you?" he scolded lightly.

"Hey, this place is charming. And I have the best room in the house."

He sat up on his elbows and looked around before conceding, "It is a pretty sweet room."

All creepiness and mustiness aside, I loved my new place. I had spent a lot of time here towards the end of my sophomore year of college with my best friends Rosalie and Alice, who lived here with another girl named Vicky and her boyfriend James. Vicky and James had moved out at the end of the lease, so they invited me to move in. I was thrilled, both to get out of my depressing one bedroom and to live with two of my favorite people in the whole world.

Jake had wanted to move in together, but I was vehemently against the idea. True, we'd been dating since our freshmen year and it seemed like the logical next step, but I still didn't feel quite right about it. I love Jake, but we bicker enough without the added stress of "who used up all the hot water," "who took the last Toaster Strudel", etc. Even if I _had_ wanted to, I would never even think of running the idea by Charlie, my father. He'd immediately develop a hernia, but not before traveling out to the university with the sole purpose of shooting Jake directly in the testicles. He may have more or less approved of Jake, but Charlie still liked to think the most we had ever touched was the occasional chaste hand-holding. Despite being legally allowed to drink, smoke, buy porn and enlist in the army, I was still his little girl.

It worked out anyway; Jake's friend Seth needed a roommate in his two bedroom, which was only about a ten minute walk away from me. We could still see each other regularly and I wouldn't have to listen to his band practicing at all hours. Problem solved.

Jake swiped some hair from his forehead while glancing at the screen of his phone. "Oh, by the way, you still need someone to move into James' old room, right?"

"Yeah, we've been asking around but it seems everyone we know already has a place. We might have to resort to putting up a Craigslist ad." None of us were fond of the idea, sure that this would lead to giving a bunch of creepers tours around our home while never actually finding a decent roommate.

"Well, you know that guy who just auditioned for the band? The drummer I told you about?"

I vaguely remembered him mentioning this to me, but his band was always cycling through drummers so I hadn't really paid attention.

"It looks like it's going to be a permanent thing. He's a genius, Bells, exactly what we've been looking for. Anyway, he mentioned he's looking for a place so I told him he could stop by and check it out."

"Geez, Trigger. When did you invite him over? I haven't even met the guy, let alone had a chance to mention anything to Rose and Alice. And the place is a wreck right now!"

Just then, I heard a knock at the front door. I slowly looked over at Jake with a scowl, which he returned with a sheepish look and slight shrug of the shoulders.

"Damn it, Jacob!"

"I'm sorry!"

I rolled my eyes while he stood up and thundered down the stairs. I began instinctively smoothing my hair back and pulling down my tiny running shorts, annoyed that anyone but Jake would see me in this bizarre juxtaposition of skimpy clothing and sweaty, dirt-and-dust smudged skin.

The door creaked open and I heard Jake's jovial greeting.

"Edward! How's it going, man?"


	2. I Could Set This Heart on Stun

Jake's propensity for doing things with zero regard for my interests was becoming a little more than irritating. We had literally _just _tossed the last box into my room and he already had some random drummer asshole in the foyer ready to check the place out.

Okay, so maybe he was just trying to be helpful. But I was still annoyed.

"Hey Bells, come here!"

I scowled despite the fact that he couldn't see, bit back the urge to throw something down the stairs at him, checked one more time to ensure my ass wasn't hanging out of my shorts, and headed down.

I wasn't even halfway there before I heard Jake chastising me: "Jesus Bella, you could've put some clothes on."

I was mortified. "Seriously, Jake? I don't even know which boxes contain my clothes right now. Maybe next time you make impromptu plans you'll give me enough time to put a fucking ankle length skirt on," I seethed, marching down the remaining stairs.

A cough resounded to my right and I noticed fidgeting, uncomfortable hands in my periphery. Great, Jacob. Make me out to be some crazy harlot in front of the potential new tenant.

I turned, offering an apologetic smile.

And that's when I first really took him in.

Holy fucking Greek God of Impure Thought Causing Golden Adonises, Batman. Did my panties just spontaneously combust?

First of all, he was wearing a Pixies shirt. As in my all time favorite band. A Pixies shirt that was just a tad too small and hugging an obviously impressive torso. I quickly flicked my eyes up to keep myself from ogling, but that didn't help at all. His face was _perfect_. Strong jaw with a touch of stubble, sexy as fuck cheek bones, lips that were the ideal mix of masculine and pouty, and copper brown hair that he was currently tossing out of his bright green eyes.

A lean yet sculpted arm was extended in front of me and I blinked rapidly, trying to shake off my filthy reverie.

"Hey, I'm Edward, the new drummer?"

Oh god, his voice was gravely yet smooth and seriously, did my panties disintegrate into thin air? _Get it together, kid!_

"Um, hey," was my brilliant response. "Sorry, I was just... I like your shirt." That's it, Bella, dazzle him with your astoundingly witty repartee. I reached out to return his attempt at shaking my hand and tried really, really hard to ignore how tingly my skin felt against his.

"Oh, thanks. They're my favorite band," he said nonchalantly, dropping his hand and looking past the foyer and through the adjacent opening.

The living room was an explosion of epic proportions. It looked like a French lingerie shop, pretentious post-modern boutique, and the Salvation Army had simultaneously vomited all over the floor. Rosalie's pink, frilly lampshades and curtains, Alice's crazy carbon black, bizarrely sculpted furniture and framed art, and my record player, vinyl collection, and musty books were all scattered haphazardly amongst various odds and ends that hadn't yet been properly situated.

"Um, yeah, the place isn't exactly in the best shape at the moment.. we're still getting my things moved in and rearranging a bit," I said, throwing a surreptitious glare at Jake. "But Alice will probably change all that before we even uncork the first bottle of wine tonight."

Edward turned back to me with a raised eyebrow.

"Alice and Rosalie are the other roommates. They're out running errands right now."

"Errands meaning 'acquiring enough Merlot to kill a herd of elephants,'" Jake interjected. Edward looked unsure of how to respond.

"Yes, we're all lushes and whores around here. It's actually a brothel, but we don't like to be too obvious about it," I deadpanned. I could practically feel Jake fuming. Good.

Edward smirked and clapped his hands together. "Well, where's the lease? I'm sold."

I rolled my eyes and nodded towards the basement door. "You want to check out your room first?"

Jake lead the way down, suddenly playing the role of aggressive real estate agent. "It's a really great space! It has it's own bathroom and there's a little stove and sink. And it's the biggest room in the house and the acoustics are great..."

Oh, hell no. So _that_ was his whole angle. Before I could interject, Jake spit out exactly what I thought he was going to say:

"It'd be a great practice spot. There's plenty of room for your drums and James left his amp behind so..."

Sneaky fucking dog. I couldn't believe that just minutes ago I was assuring myself his intentions were that of a helpful, considerate boyfriend. Of _course_ he had ulterior and self-serving motives - ones that could potentially get me kicked out of my new home because of the inevitable noise complaints resulting from his plan to convert the basement into his band's practice space.

I suddenly realized Edward was looking at me with slight trepidation and I tried to neutralize my features. I mean, it wasn't his fault my boyfriend was being a dick.

He cleared his throat. "Actually dude, I already have a practice space rented out downtown, so we can always just use that." Jake seemed placated by this idea and stopped his rambling. "And anyway, I still have to make sure everyone approves of me."

I could tell he was trying to smooth over the situation that Jake didn't even realize he'd almost caused. I felt a little awkward about it, so I tried to meet him halfway.

"Well, the girls should be back pretty soon with dinner supplies, so you're welcome to join us and get to know everyone," I offered.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Just beware of Alice. She fucking nuts, dude," Jake said with a chuckle that made me want to slap him across the face. Seriously, now he was going to talk shit on my best friend? What the hell was _wrong_ with him today?

"By that, he means that Alice is darling, wonderful, and a bit exuberant," I said with a calm that took extraordinary effort, not wanting to create any more awkwardness in front of Edward.

"Just the sort of girl you hope to come across in a brothel," Edward supplied, effectively ending the conversation and steering us out of the uncomfortable fog we'd been standing in moments before.

This kid was gaining my fondness with alarmingly rapidity.

++o++o++

As we headed back upstairs to await the girls' return, I realized I didn't particularly want to spend our house-christening festivities in sweaty cut-offs and an old tank-top. I excused myself, leaving the boys to ponder over how exactly one sits on the absurd contraptions Alice considered furniture.

I let out an exasperated sigh when I reached my room. It was going to take a lot of digging around to acquire all the materials necessary for a shower and change of clothes. I had been so anxious to get out of my old place that I'd packed everything up in a matter of hours, with absolutely no consideration for order.

I grabbed the first box at random and peeled the packing tape off, giggling when I glanced inside - it was a perfect visual display of my incongruities. I pulled out my phone, snapped a picture and sent it to Alice, who has always been equally dismayed and delighted by my dueling personalities.

The box contained my favorite pair of chucks and my favorite pair of bright red heels. Shot glasses and lipstick. A worn down studded belt and a pale pink, lacy bra. A mess of tickets from local shows and a silver charm bracelet. My baseball tee from the little boy's section of the thrift store with "Our Lady of Victories" emblazoned across the chest and a bottle of Elizabeth Arden Green Tea & Lotus perfume. It made sense not only that I owned all these items, but that they were somehow all in close enough proximity that they were thrown in the same box.

My phone chirped; it was the sound I picked for messages from Alice, since she reminded me of a bird sometimes... a beautiful bird with majestic plumage that somehow came across a feeder full of amphetamines.

**Oh, Bellini. Never change. And that's my lipstick, you thieving minx!**

I giggled again. A Bellini is an Italian cocktail made with sparkling wine and fruit puree; Alice started addressing me as such, patting herself on the back for her brilliance, on a night we were all a bit tipsy on Prosecco. Needless to say, it stuck.

At the bottom of the box was a picture of me and Jake at dinner with Charlie last summer. I had asked the waiter to take it for several reasons: one, Charlie had actually put on a button down shirt I was sure I would never see on him again. Two, Jake was actually acting like a gentleman because of my father's presence, something else I was sure I would never again witness. Three, I totally owned that little black cocktail dress and I wanted photographic evidence for Alice and Rose.

I frowned slightly, scrutinizing the picture. Jake was looking at me with such unabashed adoration. When was the last time he looked at me like that?

Ugh. No, I was not going to start with that. Things with Jake were fine. No need to cause problems where there weren't any.

Once I finally located my shower caddie, I tried to move quickly through my toilette. One lather and rinse, a minute or two of green apple conditioner, and a silent _Thank You_ to Rosalie for convincing me to get my legs waxed. I dried my long hair in record time, smoothing a little pomade on the ends and finishing with a spritz of Green Tea & Lotus along my clavicle. Feeling this was sufficient, I threw a towel on, stepped out of the bathroom and promptly screamed bloody murder.

"JESUS CHRIST, BELLA!"

"JESUS CHRIST, ME? ALICE WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT POPPING OUT OF NOWHERE UNANNOUNCED!"

Then we both continued simply yelling "AAAAAHHHHH!" until we got it out of our systems and stopped, taking a few deep breaths.

"You good now? Okay. Because I brought you a present to make up for my lack of big brawny box-transporting arms."

"Oh, Alice, you know you don't have t -"

"And _you_ know that yes, I absolutely do have to," she cut me off while reaching behind my door and pulling in a giant shopping bag.

She must have seen the look of horror on my face that I was trying desperately to keep under the surface, because she held up a hand and started speaking rapidly.

"Okay, listen, I know how awkward you get about feeling 'overdressed' or whatever nonsense you always come up with and I've come to realize that I have been coming at you from all the wrong angles with my attempts at appealing to your fashionable side, which, by the way, is _really_ spot on when you want it to be but then you go and ruin it with a pair of chucks or something and..."

"Ali! Focus!" I snapped my finger. I had to do this fairly often with her.

"Alright, alright. So, I reeled myself in a bit..."

I snorted, but she didn't miss a beat.

"...and decided to try and make a better effort to compromise my insatiable need to treat you like a doll and your completely unpredictable sense of style." She slowly pulled an item from the bag and held it up with a hesitant half-smile.

"Alice, what the hell?" I squeaked.

Her face dropped. "Oh no, I really thought that -"

"I love it! I've been looking everywhere for something just like it!"

She started doing her Alice Bounce while I marveled at the result of her apparent psychic abilities. It was a cream colored, pencil cut shirt-dress with delicate navy buttons and elegant piping. It was sexy yet subtle and would match my navy peep-toe kitten heels _perfectly_.

"I'm so glad you like it!" Alice trilled, before suddenly darting back to the door and shutting it lightly.

"So, who is that insanely good-looking boy I saw rifling through your vinyl collection as I was running up the stairs?" she inquired.

"He was looking through my vinyl?" I hissed. I couldn't really explain why that made me feel so irritated, nervous and excited all at once.

Alice rolled her eyes. "You'd think I told you he was reading your journal aloud from the roof. Anyway, dish!"

"Well, uh... Jake sort of just sprung him on me -"

"Ooh, he sprung on you?"

"Damn it, Alice!" I retorted, trying not to think about Edward and springing and _oh god, stop it, Bella_...

I recovered, hoping she didn't notice my brief lapse in coherency, and explained the whole Jake-being-a-dick-and-maybe-the-sex-god-in-our-living-room-could-potentially-help-us-out-with-rent-thing.

"Hmm," Alice pondered. "It would be really good to fill James' spot... I mean, the money we'd each save on rent and utilities would equal a new pair of shoes every month..."

I snapped my fingers again to get her back on track. "I invited him to stay for dinner and drinks so we could get a feel for him and see if -"

"Yeah, I bet you'd like to get a _feel _for him," she said, making a vulgar humping motion at me. I tried to hold in my laugh for a second but there was no hope... for me to contain my giggles or for our minds to ever be salvaged from the gutter.

I heard my door squeak and saw a fan of golden hair fall into my room, followed by a raised, exceptionally well-groomed eyebrow.

"What are you tramps doing and who is that sexy fucker in the living room?" Rose hissed.

"Did both of you just run up here without saying a word to the boy? He's going to think we're total weirdos," I said, incredulous.

Rose scoffed and slipped all the way in, shutting the door behind her. "Why are you still in your towel? I need you to make the salad."

"I've showed you a million times how I make a salad! My dressing is just olive oil and vinegar with some salt and garlic."

"But I can never get the ratio right!"

"Fine, fine, just let me throw some clothes on," I said, glancing around my room and wondering where I might actually find them.

"Oh hell no. Did you think I was just showing you this dress to practice for my home shopping channel career? Put it on! I'll find your navy heels," she demanded, immediately fluttering around the room ripping boxes open.

"Uh, I don't know, Al. I mean, it's just dinner at home..."

Rosalie butted in. "Nope. Dinner at home with a box of wine from-"

"Rose! I thought we were all in agreement regarding boxed wine!" I gasped in alarm.

"Excuse me, but what exactly do you take me for? Yes, this wine comes from a box. Which was shipped from my father's vineyard in California. Which contains twelve bottles of his finest Merlot," she stated primly.

"Oooh," was all I could muster, my eyes going wide.

"Yes. And we've invited some friends over after dinner. You can even tell Jake he can invite his sweaty band mates over if he is so inclined."

I laughed. Alice and Rose had never even met Jake's band-mates because Rose had dated some asshole musician named Royce who turned her off to even wanting to be in the same room as someone who played guitar. Jake was the only exception, but that's because Rose had deemed him "annoying but mostly harmless" after being around him for awhile.

"Well, it's good you're willing to make that addendum, because Edward, 'sexy fucker' down there, is the new drummer," I informed her.

She wrinkled her nose a bit, but after a moment shrugged her shoulders. "Drummers don't bother me as much," she stated.

"He's also looking to move into the basement," I said, not bothering with the whole Jake-dick-plus-sex-god whatever explanation. Rose didn't seem to mind, since she was already mumbling to herself about corsets and garter belts; I assumed she'd gone down the same mental route as Alice regarding money saved and expensive accessories to be bought.

I felt a wad of cotton hit me in the face. "Put that on! Don't bother with undies, even with a thong you'd probably get panty lines in that dress."

I caught the push-up bra before starting to protest. "Wait, I still haven't agreed to - "

"BAH!" Alice exclaimed, as though that ended the conversation. And apparently it did, since Rose was shoving me back into the bathroom, dress in one hand, mysteriously materialized make-up bag in the other.

"Use the Dior mascara on her! It makes her look like a Disney princess!" Alice called after us.

I sighed, flopped on the toilet seat and looked up at Rose.

"See how much easier it is when you don't put up a fuss?" Rose said with mock condescension. I folded my arms like a pouting toddler, but was unable to to hide my smile.

"There we go. Give in to the pink frilly side, Bellini," she coaxed.

"Rose? Did... did you just make a Star Wars reference?" I asked, mirth and forthcoming revenge in my tone.

"OH GODDAMNIT!" she yelled and I heard Alice cackle wickedly from the other side of the door. Rose let out an exaggerated groan, knowing exactly what was coming.


	3. They Won't See Us Waving

The great thing about Rose is that she can apply mascara while ranting ferociously and still get it just right.

"NO! NO, NO, NO! THAT DOESN'T COUNT!"

Alice yanked open the bathroom door, still laughing, and said, "Oh yes it fucking does! You never would have said that without the existence of The Dark Side and Luke's iconic struggle against it!"

"She's right. It totally counts," I reiterated. Rose looked like she was going to jab me in the eye with the mascara wand, but I knew she would under no circumstance allow herself to be the cause of a make-up mishap, so I wasn't worried. She let out a screech of frustration while finishing with the top coat.

Months ago, the three of us had gotten into a debate regarding the original Star Wars Trilogy. Rose kept finding me and Alice huddled in the living room watching it and making absurdly dorky jokes and just generally enjoying it "far more than two ladies in their twenties should," according to Rose. We had insisted again and again that she should watch it with us, knowing she had never even given it a chance, and constantly annoyed her by making references to it that she didn't understand.

One evening when Rose was particularly frustrated by us making filthy jokes about Han Solo's space pants, Alice and I made a sort of arrangement with her. I argued that Star Wars is so ingrained in our culture that she has undoubtedly referenced it without even knowing. Alice continued by emphasizing the importance of the movies and how it was ridiculous of Rose to refuse to give them a chance. Rose vehemently protested, saying there was absolutely no way she has ever uttered any manner of "Star Wars-ism" and never would. We bet against her and the stakes were as follows: should she ever make any sort of reference to Star Wars in her speech when the subject wasn't being directly discussed, she would have to watch it with us. She agreed, assuming the day would never come.

I was still laughing triumphantly as Rose rather aggressively applied a deep red lip stain to my mouth. "Ugh, Fine, FINE," she conceded. "But not until I've had at least three very large glasses of wine."

Alice and I squealed while Rose left the bathroom in a huff. Alice, apparently having found the rest of my toiletries, spritzed some glossing serum in my hair, smoothed and fluffed, then looked pointedly at the garments hanging on the door. "I'm going to finish up the rest of dinner. And I'm going to make the salad because I don't want your clumsy ass spilling olive oil all over your new dress. But try to be down in five," she said, leaving me to get dressed - the only aspect of getting ready they seemed to feel I could do myself.

I sighed, pulled off my towel and started with the ridiculous push-up bra. It seemed a bit much to me on top of all the other primping, but then I pulled the dress on.

Oh, Alice, I should know by now never to doubt you.

The push-up bra worked flawlessly with the dress, accentuating just enough that there was a perfect balance between sexy and casual. I did a little pirouette and smiled. After feeling frumpy and gross all day, this really did lift my spirits. I slipped on my kitten-heels and headed for the stairs.

When I was about to descend, I heard Edward and Jake's voices from the living room. I suddenly felt self-conscious about walking down and essentially parading myself in front of the boys. It felt weird and I was sure it would end with me tripping half-way and landing flat on my face at the bottom.

"Wow, where did she find this Two Gallants LP? I've been looking for it for years," I heard Edward saying. I felt myself blushing slightly, trying to ignore the little flutter in my stomach. He was still looking through my collection, which made me feel terribly exposed, but... he knew Two Gallants?

"Really, you like that shit? Bores the hell out of me," Jake retorted. My muscles tensed slightly and I really just wanted to yell down the stairs that he was a philistine with no taste, but I bit my tongue. I mean, just because our musical tastes differed didn't mean I needed to call him names. Aloud, anyway.

I started down the stairs, paying close attention to my feet in an attempt to reign in my clumsiness. The boys stopped talking and I felt my face heat up further, staring even harder at my shoes until I finally reached the bottom.

Jake was staring wide-eyed at me. "Wow, Bells, you look really hot," he said. I rolled my eyes at his lack of eloquence before glancing over at my record collection. Edward had apparently been placing my copy of the _The Throes_ back into the box but seemed to have stopped halfway through. I flicked my eyes up involuntarily and caught his; he immediately averted his gaze, coughed and continued sorting the album. Weird.

It was only a split second, but it felt longer and I started scrambling for something else to say. Then I took in the state of the living room and laughed.

"So, Alice whirl-winded on through here, huh?" I asked.

Jake scoffed. "More like exerted a brief but terrifying totalitarian regime."

Edward chuckled lightly and explained, "Uh, she had us help move around some of the bigger things. Between our muscles and her bravado it got done in a matter of minutes."

"I see. Well, I'm going to go help with dinn..."

"Yes, won't you please?" Rose said with mock sweetness. I turned around and she and Alice were balancing nearly the entire meal in their arms, heading for the huge coffee table in the middle of the room.

"Ha, sorry guys. I'll um, grab the wine, I guess," I offered lamely.

"That's all your good for!" Alice called out.

"And what would do without me?" I yelled back on my way to the kitchen.

Dinner was surprisingly smooth and easy, considering we basically had a stranger in our midst. We mostly just made small talk while the boys scarfed down the meal, offering the occasional grunt. Eventually, though, Rose and Alice started grilling Edward, who looked rather startled but was very compliant.

"So, you're a drummer," Rose disdainfully stated, rather than asking.

Edward gulped down his bite of pasta while nodding, apparently missing Rose's disapproval. "Yeah, I've been playing since I was about ten or so. Been in a few bands but nothing very good or long-term or anything."

"And now you're playing in Jake's band?" Alice chimed in.

"Yeah, I just came to the city to finish up my degree and - "

"Degree in what?" Rose demanded.

"Music Education. But yeah, I've just sort of been couch surfing and looking for a place. I met Jasper at a party and he mentioned their band needing a drummer, so..."

"Jasper's the singer and lead guitarist," I clarified to the girls.

"I still can't believe you two haven't met the guys," Jake said, frowning slightly.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Well, you know Rose's thing about musicians..."

"Hey! I told Bella she could invite them over once we finish dinner. And there are other people around to distract from the smell."

"Rose! Why do you assume all people in bands around here are smelly? Jasper and Emmett shower regularly as far as I know," I laughed.

"If you say so. Anyway, let's clear up. People will probably start coming over soon."

"So you're having a party or something tonight?" Edward inquired.

"Yeah, we wanted to celebrate Bella officially moving in. You down? It'd give you a good feel of what it's like around here, I guess, and we could talk roommate stuff. And I assume the band is coming over..." Alice said, looking at Jake, who was still stuffing his face with what had to be his fifth helping.

"Mmhm, aw caw em un uh min," Jake garbled.

"He'll call them in a minute," I translated. I knew his "mouth overflowing with food" language all too well.

"You're sure you don't mind? I could go grab some beer..." Edward offered.

Jake finally swallowed his food and chimed in. "Good idea. Too much wine makes me all goofy and weird."

"Jesus, even more so than usual? Yeah, you'd better make a PBR run," Rose said, gathering dishes.

Jake just rolled his eyes, clicking away on his phone. "You wanna run to the store, man?"

"Sure," Edward replied while helping clear the table.

"We've got these, thanks. You guys go ahead," I said, reaching for the plates in his hands. My pinky accidentally grazed one of his fingers as I took them and again, I tried to ignore the strange little jolt I felt. As I glanced up, I noticed a slightly bemused expression appear and quickly fade on his face. I frowned at myself inwardly for even making the observation.

"Okay, well... do any of you need anything?" he asked, after coughing slightly.

"We're good!" Alice and Rose chimed from the kitchen. I just smiled awkwardly and turned to follow them.

As soon as the front door closed, the girls burst into their assessments of our potential roommate.

"So polite, and he's going into Music Education? That's really -"

"He's fairly well-groomed for a musician, so that's a plus -"

"I bet he has sexy aspiring-professor-friends -"

"WHOA. Alright, I agree, he's definitely a solid candidate. But maybe we should see if there are other people looking..." I started.

Alice frowned. "We _have_ been looking for other people, for weeks now. He seems like the perfect solution. What, are you worried about all the girl-boners he's going to give you? That he'll be TOO helpful with the dishes?"

"Ugh, Alice. I'm just saying, we're kind of jumping the gun here..."

Rose snorted. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind jumping THAT gun."

"ROSE! And furthermore, if you're all scrambling to toss your panties in his face, I really don't think that would be an ideal roommate situation," I argued.

"Oh, please. He's sexy, but he's not my type, nor is he Alice's. I think your panties are the only ones with potential to be tossed, here," Rose quipped.

"I'm dating Jake, for Christ's sake!" I almost shouted.

"Alright, so then we all agree that this seems like a pretty sound solution, assuming he'll be cool with the lease and agree in the first place?" Alice posited, raising her eyebrows at us. She was always good at choosing the best times to state her case.

"Fine," I huffed. "But let's just take tonight to hang out and get to know him a little better, alright?"

"Agreed," Rose and Alice chimed at the same time.

"Well, we're going to go freshen up. Bella, you don't need any freshening so it's your duty to get music and alcohol set up. People are going to start showing up any minute," Rose said, dashing for the stairs with Alice in tow.

++o++o++o++

I had the living room cleared up, Merlot and ever-handy plastic wine glasses out, and one of my party playlists coming from the surround sound when the boys came back, carrying boxes of PBR.

Jake nodded towards me, saying, "The guys are coming over in fifteen or so," as they headed towards the kitchen to throw their beer in the fridge. I nodded back before flicking back through my playlist, suddenly self-conscious. Then I realized I was being stupid, put my iPod back down and poured myself a glass of wine, desperately hoping it would calm my inexplicable nerves.

"Great song."

I spluttered slightly into my glass, then tried to cover it up with a cough. God, Bella, why the fuck are you so awkward?

"You know The Lyres?" I asked, trying to recover with at least a modicum of social normality.

"Oh yeah, they're great," Edward replied, cracking his beer. "I always wondered though, what exactly he meant by 'She Pays the Rent.' Is she like... his sugar-mama, or does she, you know, PAY the rent... in a different way," he began to trail off, as though suddenly realizing that his sexual interpretation of the lyrics wasn't exactly appropriate.

I could feel a blush rising in my cheeks, so I took a quick gulp of wine before replying. "I, uh, I've actually wondered the same thing. Have you heard the slower version?"

He gave me a relieved smile. "Yeah, yeah. I can never really decide which one I like more."

I beamed. "Same!"

Jacob then walked into the room, providing his contribution to the conversation with a loud belch. "Bleh, PBR."

Edward nodded. "Tastes like piss, but it's economically sound."

"You're welcome to the wine," I offered Edward.

"I think you all should get to know me a little better before you see me wine drunk," Edward said with a slightly crooked grin. _Holy shit_.

"Why, do you get 'goofy and weird' as well?" Rose interjected, traipsing down the stairs. Apparently "freshening up" meant squeezing into a skintight red bandeau dress and stilettos. I couldn't quite contain my smirk.

Edward glanced at her briefly before turning back around. "Something like that," he said, still grinning a bit.

"Isn't that kind of the point of_ any_ alcohol, though?" I asked rhetorically. The boys chuckled and I leaned into Rose.

"Hey Jessi R.," I whispered, holding up the wine bottle to her. She smiled at the nickname - I used it whenever she looked like Jessica Rabbit, which was fairly often, truth be told. She held out her glass, whispering, "Is it too much?"

I cocked my head, giving her the _nah, really?_ face. "When isn't it?"

She pouted slightly.

"Oh, stop that. You look hot as hell," I said, setting down the bottle and clicking my glass to hers. We each took a sip before we heard a knock at the door.

"I GOT IT I GOT IT I GOT IT I GOT IT," Alice cried, flying down the stairs like a whirling dervish and throwing the door open.

"Kate, Irina!" She squealed.

They exchanged greetings while pouring into the foyer. I vaguely remembered Kate and Irina - they were old friends of Alice's family and she had them over on occasion. I had never felt particularly comfortable around them, but they were nice enough. I noticed there was another girl behind them.

"Alice, this is Tanya, our new roommate," Kate explained. Alice smiled and shook her hand, introducing herself and then continuing the introductions around the room. Tanya appraised the boys (with an especially long and unnecessarily seductive once-over of Edward) before turning a cool eye on Rose and me. She quickly recovered from her sneer, swapping it with a saccharin smile, her syrupy voice saying, "Hello" before turning her eye back on Edward.

This gave me an irrational twinge of anger. Rose glanced over at me and very subtly rolled her eyes before taking another sip from her glass. Alice was oblivious from her spot in the room and began handing out cups and pouring wine.

"Slow Hands" by Interpol came on and Rose squealed, grabbing my hand and beginning to spin me.

"Rose! Awkward people in white dresses holding wine should never twirl!" I reprimanded, trying to twist around while maintaining my composure. She laughed at me and started shimmying her body against mine. I rolled my eyes, sipping impassively as she danced, before hearing another knock at the door.

Jake went for it this time, swinging it open to admit a loud chorus of manly greetings. _The band_.

"Hey guys, come on in! There's beer in the fridge," Jake was saying, ushering them into the room.

"BELLS!" Emmett bellowed, immediately bounding toward me. I was grateful I had the foresight to set down my glass before Emmett threw me into the air, nearly crushing my ribs while lightly ruffling my hair.

"Hey Emmers!" I squeaked out before he set me back down.

"Ooh, look at you, all girly and shit," Emmett teased. I cocked my head, unsuccessfully suppressing a smile as I retorted, "It's been known to happen."

He chuckled before glancing over at Rose, who was wearing an expression I really could not place.

"Em, this is my roommate Rosalie," I said as he quickly thrust his hand forward. "Rose, this is Emmett, the bassist in Jake's band."

"It's great to finally meet you, Rosalie."

Rose laughed lightly, as though she was slightly taken aback, and placed her tiny hand in his massive bear paw. "Nice to meet you," she replied.

"And over there is my other roommate, Alice..." I trailed off as I caught Alice's eye, realizing she'd been looking my way. She thrust a thumb toward Jasper, who was chatting with Jake and Edward, with her mouth agape. Fortunately, Emmett didn't see this, not having noticed her miniscule stature in the corner.

"Al!" I half-yelled, beckoning for her, before I noticed Jasper on his way over to me.

"Hey kiddo," he greeted me in his slight, pleasant Southern twang, throwing his arm around my shoulder and giving me a sideways hug. "How are ya?"

"I'm good. Saved some wine for you," I said. We had a running joke that he was was the "refined" one in the band. "Oh, and this is my roommate, Rose."

"Pleasure to meet you," Jazz said as they grasped hands.

"Wait, why does he get to call her 'Rose'?" Emmett asked.

"Because he's drinking wine, so he has an automatic 'in' with the girls," she joked.

"See how being the 'refined one' pays off?" Jazz said. His laughter trailed off rather quickly, and I noticed Alice had finally made her way over.

It was like the fucking sea parted or something. Jasper and Alice ignored everyone else, staring at each other and holding out their hands, introducing themselves. I glanced over at Rose and Emmett and both of them shrugged.

"Well, I'm gonna go grab a beer," Em said, heading towards the kitchen.

++o++o++o++o

The party was in full swing and the bottle of Merlot I had opened for myself and hidden under the sink was getting rather low. Feeling pretty damn tipsy, I weaved in and out of the rooms, stopping to chat with people now and then. I had been sitting outside catching up with one of my old classmates, Angela, and hadn't realized how long we'd been talking. I peaked into the living room, trying to assess the situation among my friends.

Jasper and Alice were in the same position they'd been all night, leaning towards each other in Alice's weird "chair" things, apparently oblivious to the world around them. I smiled - it actually made a lot of sense, though I'd never considered it before. Jake and Paul were nearby; Jake was laughing drunkenly at some undoubtedly crude joke Paul was telling. Rose was talking to one of our pretentious looking neighbors. I was considering stepping in to save her, but then she giggled and touched his arm. Ugh... I'd check on her in a little and intervene before she made _that_ mistake.

I decided it was a fine opportunity to slip out onto the roof for a bit. I enjoyed these parties, but there were always points where I needed a little break. I grabbed the last of my wine, slipped up to my room and climbed out my window.

_Ah, much better_. It was breezy and a bit quieter, since people generally kept inside or in the backyard and my bit of roof hung over the front porch. I fumbled around for my cigarettes; it was a disgusting habit, but I hadn't quite 100% quit. Jake was always very condescending about it, so I had a tendency to sneak away and do it in private. And on a warm summer night, alone on the roof - well, _fuck it_, I thought.

As I exhaled my first drag, I heard the front door open and close, followed by the flick of a lighter. I almost went to peer down and see who it was when the door opened again and I heard Tanya's stupid, simpering voice.

"Oh, Edward! I didn't know you were out here."

_Yes you fucking did_, I thought, rolling my eyes and taking another drag.

"Oh, hey there," Edward replied.

"Mind if I bum a smoke?"

"No problem."

"Having fun?" Tanya asked coyly. I could practically see the furious batting of her false eyelashes.

"Yeah, I am," Edward replied, sounding somewhat listless.

She scoffed. "I got dragged along by my roommates. It's alright, I guess, but not really my scene. I'm not fond of coming over to this part of town."

I glared in the direction of her voice, willing her to feel my supreme annoyance through the rooftop.

"Ah. Well, actually, this might end up being my part of town... assuming Bella, Rose and Alice will have me."

"Oh, well, I guess it has its charm," she said with an unmistakable iciness. "Anyway, I heard you're here for Music Education. That's pretty cool."

"Yeah. I mean, I used to give guitar and piano lessons to kids in high school and I always really enjoyed it, so..."

"That's _so adorable_," she she cut him off. I could hear her shuffling, presumably closer to Edward.

He laughed. "I guess? I don't know, I like music and I like working with kids, so I thought it just sort of made sense." He cleared his throat. " Are you going to school here?"

"Yeah. I'm in Fashion and Design. I was just always modeling for my friends in the department my Freshman year, so I figured, why not make it my major?"

I nearly vomited off the roof.

"Oh, well... that sounds interesting. You'd probably get to travel if you really made a career out of it, which would be cool."

"Mm. You would, too, if your band takes off, right? You do have a very 'rock-star'-ish look about you," she murmured. Oh, this was just too much; I couldn't resist any longer and found myself shifting ever so slightly to peer over the edge. I could just make out her hand going for his hair. Brazen, this girl. She took a few strands between her fingers and said, "I think I'm going to head back in. Join me?"

I wished I could see his expression. He sniffed and said, "I'm just going to finish my cigarette..."

I saw her flick her half-smoked stub onto our steps, right past a very obviously placed ash tray. "I'll see you in there, then." I leaned over a bit more and saw her sashaying her ass with a bit too much force before I shifted back, stifling a giggle.

In my fairly drunken state, I briefly considered hollering something out to Edward, making fun of him for the Tanya exchange, but ultimately thought better of it. I heard him go back inside and contented myself with sitting at the edge, sipping what I told myself would be my last glass.

A couple minutes went by when suddenly I heard the door to my room open and close. I thought it must be Jake or one of the girls, so I stood up and peered in.

It was Edward.

He leaned against the door with his eyes closed, pinching the bridge of his nose, before slowly opening them and turning toward the window. I was just staring at him like an idiot. He jolted upon seeing me, then looked embarrassed.

He came up to the window and leaned his head out. "Hey, I'm really sorry. I, uh... could I come out there for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure."

He climbed out much more gracefully than I had, ran his hands through his hair and let out a dry, sardonic sort of laugh. I lit another cigarette before he went to do the same.

"So um, are you okay?"

He cleared his throat. "You know that girl... Tanya?"

I let out a little laugh. "Yeah... well, I mean, I met her when you did, but that's about it."_ Aside from that whole eavesdropping thing just now._

"...Yeah. Rose said it was cool if I used the bathroom up here and next thing I know, Tanya's trying to corner me in the shower. I mean, Jesus."

"Oh. Wow. Well, hey, you're already making friends," I said, totally unsure of how to respond.

He pressed his lips together as if suppressing a smile. "I don't know that she's a friend I want to make."

I laughed lightly and turned to pick up my glass.

It all happened very quickly. My heel caught on a divot in the roof, causing me to lose my footing. I started to teeter over, a horrible wash of adrenaline and dread overtaking me as I realized what was about to happen. My breath caught and then -

I felt cool hands gripping me tightly, one on my shoulder nearest the edge and the other around my waist, pulling me back. I whirled toward Edward and he had us against the brick wall, as far away from the edge as possible, in a matter of seconds.

His grip loosened for a second, but I was shaking so hard I almost collapsed, and it tightened again. "Hey, hey, it's okay, it's okay."

I was panting. "Oh my god, oh my god ohmygodohmygod..."

"It's okay, you're okay! Hey!" I couldn't focus on his words; the ground was still whirling below me. I felt his fingers on my chin as he gently moved my face to his.

_"It's okay."_

My breathing finally started to settle as I stared into his absurdly green eyes. And then I flushed furiously. How_ fucking embarrassing. _

"Thank you," I finally choked out. "You... you just... thank you."

"It's okay. Let's just get you back inside." He let his hands fall and moved away so that I could climb, shaking and stumbling, back through the window. He grabbed my things and climbed in after me. I sat down on my bed, still not fully there. When I looked up, he was rubbing the back of his neck, looking awkward. "I'll um... I'll go get one of the girls... or Jake..."

I opened my mouth to respond, but no sound came out. It didn't matter, he was already out the door.


	4. Give Me Your Eyes

I was leaning with my head on my knees, willing my breathing to return to normal. Then I heard light but swift footsteps ascending the stairs and looked up as Alice came flying into my room.

"Bella, oh my god, are you okay?"

I took a deep breath. "I'm fine. Just a little shaken up."

"Just hearing what happened scared the shit out of me," she said, sitting down next to me and gently rubbing my back.

"It happened so fast. I mean, I'm really okay, I'm just reeling a bit from the vertigo." My breathing was mostly back to normal and the shaking was at a minimum. I sat up and leaned my head sideways into Alice's.

"Thank god Edward was there," she said. I nodded.

Another much heavier set of steps was now bounding up the stairs. Alice's hand halted on my shoulder and Jake burst in, looking furious. I groaned quietly.

"Bella, what the fuck were you doing out on the roof when you've been drinking? Jesus Christ, I can't believe how -"

He was cut off by Rose suddenly shoving him out of the way.

"Fuck off, Black. You really think she needs you yelling at her right now?" She came and knelt down next to me.

"Guys, _I'm fine_. Seriously. I just slipped for a second, it was scary but I'm not hurt at all," I said, blood rushing to my cheeks. This was getting ridiculous.

Jake broke off the glare he was shooting at Rosalie and looked back at me. He looked completely trashed. "What the hell were you doing out there with Edward, anyway?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but the girls beat me to it - at much louder pitches than I had intended to use.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Alice yelled, mixed with Rose's "GET THE FUCK OUT OF THIS ROOM RIGHT NOW OR SO HELP ME GOD -"

Jake actually stumbled back in shock before recomposing his expression into one of complete rage. He shook his head fiercely, then abruptly turned and walked out.

My mouth was still agape. How the hell could he react that way? His girlfriend just almost fell off a roof and broke her neck and he was making veiled accusations of my infidelity? I didn't care how drunk he was, there absolutely no excuse for that shit.

Rose was seething. "That fucking _prick_, I swear to god, I'm going to -"

"Rose, shh. That's not helping matters," Alice said softly and I realized she had gone to get a cup of water from the bathroom. I smiled at her, grateful, and drank the whole thing in one go.

I sighed and then decided to test my bearings - I stood up and found I was actually steady and really did feel as fine as I had been insisting to everyone.

"Maybe you should sit down awhile longer..." started Alice, the note of concern still heavy in her voice. Rose was blinking up at me, looking somewhat like a scolded child. I laughed.

"Rose, it is very rare that I see that look on your face," I said.

She frowned slightly. "You know the way it feels to get a well-deserved shushing from Alice."

"Like you've been consumed by a fiery ball of shame?" I retorted.

"Oh, come on!" Alice interjected. "That was like, my tamest shushing ever."

I turned, laughing, to look at my desk near the window. Edward had brought in my bottle of wine, the glass, and my cigarettes and lighter - all having miraculously survived the incident as well - and placed them neatly on one of the less cluttered sections.

Alice had apparently followed my gaze. "Do you really think more wine is a good idea?"

"Are you kidding me? If there was EVER a time for more wine, it's right now," I said, grabbing my half-finished glass and taking a defiant gulp.

Alice rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, but Rose darted out of the room and returned with more glasses and another bottle - presumably the one she had hoarded for herself for the night, as it was open and half empty. We were so predictable.

"Come on, Al," Rose said, thrusting a freshly filled glass at her. "Our girl just got prince-in-shining-armor'd, this is no time for water and sitting around."

The reminder of Edward made me groan in mortification. "Oh god,_ Edward_. He must think I'm an idiot."

"Why would he think that?" Alice said, finally consenting to Rose's pressure and sipping her glass. "He looked pretty pale and upset, but he was obviously most concerned with getting us upstairs to help you."

Rose snorted. "I can't believe he was able to tear you away from Jasper, Bella-hurtling-to-her-death or not."

"First of all, I was upstairs faster than you. Secondly, at least I wasn't totally about to hump one of those skeevy neighbor boys," Alice retorted.

"I was not! That was a cunning tactic, I'll have you know."

"A tactic for _cunnilingus_ maybe," Alice snorted.

"You, madam, are crude and uncivil," said Rose haughtily. "Anyway, I was just toying with Emmett. He got into an argument with that guy earlier and I was just flirting with him to piss Emmett off."

"Rose! That doesn't even make any sense," I said.

She shrugged. "I'd talked to him a bit, earlier. He just gets under my skin. I wanted to retaliate."

I was going to continue arguing the whole "That's Completely Absurd" angle, complete with a light scolding regarding Emmett being a great guy, but Alice cut me off with, "Don't even bother, Bella. We will never work out the insanity of Rose's sexual masterminding."

"Well, insanity and brilliance often go hand-in-hand, so -" Rose began.

"More like PENIS-IN-VAGINA, EH-YO," I said over her, going in for a high-five from Alice, who quickly met me halfway.

"Okay, that didn't even make sense, you sloshy Jezebels, and was hardly high-five worthy!" Rose complained.

"Sounds like you want to do the ol' _horizontal high-five_ with Emmett, if you ask me," I said with a lewd inflection.

Alice sputtered into her drink as Rose argued that that made even less sense and I should have my Word-Play and Pun license revoked, all while seamlessly refilling our glasses.

I was feeling warm, silly, and sufficiently recovered from the vertigo. I was so thankful for Rosalie and Alice - only they could have just swooped in and made everything better in a matter of minutes like this. And then I remembered Jake's reaction.

"Bellini? What is it?" Alice asked. I hadn't even realized my own change in expression.

"It's just... why the hell does Jake have to be such an asshole sometimes? Why did he react like that?"

"Because he's a douchebag," Rose said, the venom returning to her voice.

Alice glanced at her in a "don't-make-me-shush-you" kind of way and Rose busied herself with another sip of wine.

Ever the diplomat, Alice tried to provide an unbiased assessment: "I'm sure he was just terrified about what happened and upset with himself for not being there," she said. "People can react in crazy ways when it comes to the people they love."

Then her expression changed somewhat suddenly; she looked as though she was doing a difficult math problem in her head.

"Yeah, I tried," she said, apparently giving up on said math problem. "He is just kind of a douchebag, at least for this incident," she said. Rose's eyes widened in surprise.

I felt the instinctive urge to defend him, but instead found myself nodding.

"You know, Edward went right past him when he came downstairs," Rose said.

"Really?" I asked. "I figured Alice was just the first person he saw."

She shook her head. "Jake was at the bottom of the stairs and I know Edward saw him, but he went right for Alice. I guess Jake saw how upset he looked, so he started walking over... he and I both overheard Edward at the same time, but he got upstairs faster than me. And then Tanya came running down the stairs for whatever-the-fuck reason and got in my way. I might've pushed her just a little," she said with an unapologetic smirk.

"Ugh!" Alice burst out. Rose and I looked at her, taken aback. "I am going to make it clear to Kate and Irina that Tanya is NOT included in any future invitations to come over here."

"Wait, why?" I asked. I certainly wasn't complaining, but I knew my reasons for disliking her were maybe a bit irrational.

"She's just gross. She was circling like a damn vulture around Edward all night and being really rude to anyone else who tried to talk to him. She also does that blatant 'sizing up the competition' thing with every girl - you know, immediately giving them a once over and using that as her entire character assessment," Alice huffed. "I just can't stand people like that."

"And she tried to slip in and grab Jasper away from you," Rose said, smirking.

Alice crossed her arms somewhat childishly. "Yes well, that what also rather annoying."

"Speaking of all these dudes... maybe we should go back downstairs? That is if you're feeling up to it, Bell," Rose suggested.

"Yeah, definitely. Do I have any drastic beauty issues from the almost-fall I need to rectify?"

Alice had zipped into my bathroom, lightly powdered my face and applied a touch more lip stain within seconds. I combed a few tangles out with my fingers. "Alright, shall we?"

++o++o++o++

It had only been a few hours so far and our parties usually go well into the early morning, so things were actually still pretty lively downstairs. Jasper and Edward were standing in the corner of the living room; Edward had just slammed another beer and Jasper was speaking animatedly, though I couldn't hear him. Upon Alice's entrance, he stopped - apparently mid-sentence - and started walking over to her. Edward raised his eyebrows slightly, then looked over to see the cause of his abrupt departure and gave a very tiny, crooked smile. Then his eyes flicked to me and the smile faded quickly. He looked down awkwardly. I sighed, then popped into the kitchen to unearth my secret stash of decent (i.e. not PBR) beer in the refrigerator and plucked out a Peroni.

Feeling drunk and brazen, I headed back into the living room.

"I'll Believe in Anything" by Wolf Parade was playing. Edward was turned away, now peering at some books stacked haphazardly on the shelves built into the wall. _My books_. But he had no way of knowing that. Fuck, why did I care? God, I love this song.

_"and I could take another hit for you_

_and I could take away your trips from you"_

He was running his finger over my copy of Everything is Illuminated.

_"and I could take away the salt from your eyes_

_and take away the spitting salt in you_

_and I could give you my apologies_

_by handing over my neologies"_

He smiled slightly and shook his head.

_"and I could take away the shaking knees_

_and I could give you all the olive trees_

_oh look at the trees and look at my face and look at a place far away from here."_

He turned and looked directly into my eyes.


	5. Wake Up

I woke with a groan, slowly blinking my eyes and trying to gather my surroundings.

_Why am I engulfed in an unholy amount of lace?_

Rosalie's groan echoed my own as she grumpily hid her face under a pillow. I vaguely remembered stumbling into her room and climbing into her bed at some point.

Suddenly, Alice burst through the door, humming loudly and carrying a tray of glasses filled with questionable looking liquid.

I followed Rose's example and flopped back down, throwing a pillow over my head.

"Will you two get up already? It's almost one in the afternoon! Look, I made you an organic hangover remedy!"

I slowly peaked out from under the pillow. "I don't want your black magic witch potions, woman," I rasped.

Rose grunted in agreeance.

Alice let out a prim "Hmph" and set the tray down before jumping between us on the bed, eliciting more moans of protest.

"I'm boooored!" she whined. "Wake uuuuup!"

I hit her with my pillow; she retaliated and soon we were having the pinkest, frilliest battle that ever was.

"Why don't you just strip down to your underwear and make this a little more stereotypical? And stop that, with my nice pillows!" Rose said, snatching one from the fray and batting it between us before shoving it behind her to lean on.

"You guys should drink these, it'll really help," Alice said, going for the tray again and thrusting a glass at each of us.

I eyed it dubiously, but finally took a sip. It actually wasn't that bad.

"This tastes like it was concocted in Satan's cauldron," Rose sputtered.

"Oh, come on. It'll make you feel much better. How do you think I'm doing so well after last night?"

I peered at her over my glass. "You know, now that I think about it, I never have seen you hungover."

Rose scoffed. "That's just because she's some weird mythical pixie creature who couldn't be undone by Dionysus himself."

"Nope. I just always make a pitcher of this stuff ahead of time and drink some first thing the next morning. It's an old Brandon family recipe. Anyway, when did you guys pass out last night? Or this morning, I suppose."

Rosalie was taking cautious sips of her drink as though certain Alice was trying to poison her. "I'm not sure. What's-his-face from next door kept pestering me, but Emmett wasn't around so I couldn't really be bothered. I hung out out back with some of the other Nursing students for awhile and when I came to bed, Bella was already in it," she said, smirking at me.

I let my head fall into my hand with a smack as I started piecing everything together.

"Ugh! I made a total ass of myself in front of Edward, AGAIN."

"Did you go tumbling off the porch this time?" Alice asked.

"No, there was no_ tumbling_," I said, indignant. "It was just... you know how sometimes I get especially mushy and sentimental over certain songs when I'm drunk?"

They nodded, each with poorly hidden smiles.

"I dunno, I went to get Edward a beer to say 'thank you' for the whole saving my life thing. And this song was playing and I was being all drunk and he was looking at my favorite book and I don't know, I got all weird and then he looked right at me and I just... darted. Like, I don't even... WHY did I do that? I just freaked out and ran off," I finished as the girls dissolved into giggles.

"It's not funny!" I cried. "He must think I'm a total weirdo, falling off roofs and darting around suspiciously, clutching Italian beer..."

"Someone has a cru-uuush," Rose trilled.

"I do not! I was just being drunk and awkward! I... I have a boyfriend..."

I trailed off and they stopped laughing.

"Um, what happened to Jake last night?" I asked.

Alice shrugged. "He must've left while we were still upstairs."

I sighed. "I guess I should call him..."

"Fuck that! He can call you and it better be to apologize profusely," Rose said.

I considered that for a second and nodded, realizing she was right. I was always the one who broke the ice after a fight - if you could even call it that, considering I'd barely said a word. He should work for it this time, not me.

"Anyway, where were _you_?" I asked, looking pointedly at Alice.

"Oh, um. Jasper and I went to sit on the porch for awhile. To talk. It was... nice," she said, avoiding my gaze.

Rose and I just stared at her, heads cocked in the "Oh, _please_" position.

"OKAY, so maybe we kind of made out a little bit I don't know I mean he is like the perfect specimen of a man and he's really sweet and holy shit his mouth is TO DIE FOR and he knows how to ride horses and he just seemed so in tune with me and that _accent _and anyway I think I'm in love." She stopped abruptly, taking a deep breath and blushing slightly.

I was a bit stunned by the outburst and had no idea what to say.

"I_ knew _you guys were groping out there," Rose said smugly.

++o++o++o++

Alice's concoction really did work like magic. I followed it up with some coffee and a shower and began sorting through my boxes. I'd been at it for a couple hours and my room was actually starting to look pretty good.

I glanced at my phone periodically, but Jake had made no attempt to contact me. I was sort of relieved, which was strange - usually I agonized over whatever rift we were having, eventually getting so upset at his lack of communication that I'd cave and call him. I'd even apologize regardless of who was to blame, just so it would be over with. And frankly, I was fucking tired of it.

I had just finished tacking up my Velvet Underground poster when I heard a soft knock on my door jamb.

"Wow, you're almost done in here!" Alice exclaimed.

"I know, I think you're rubbing off on me," I said, smiling.

"Hey, so I wanted to ask... where do you stand on Edward moving in?"

I froze for a moment. "He probably doesn't even want to after my pathetic displays last night," I mumbled.

Alice smirked. "Well, I know that's not true."

"What do you mean?"

"He sat outside with Jasper and me for a bit last night - "

"Was he just standing there, watching you guys make out like that guy in _Donnie Darko_?"

"Ew, Bella! No! It was later on. Anyway, we got to talking about the house again and he seemed really enthusiastic about potentially moving in, but kept insisting the three of us take our time to talk it over." She shrugged. "I mean, I know Rose and I are fine with it, but how do you feel?"

"I, um. No, yeah, it's uh... yeah, I think it's fine. I mean, he seems to have his shit together, he's polite, we have mutual friends..."

Alice looked like she wanted to laugh.

"Well, I mean, it's better than finding some rando on Craigslist, right? So... yeah," I finished.

"So, you're sure you'll be able to... contain yourself?"

"WHAT? Alice!"

She help up her hands, backing up slightly. "Just wanted to make sure. Anyway, I got his number last night, so I'm going to call him and let him know. You know, with classes starting on Thursday, I imagine he'll want to to start moving in as soon as possible."

"Right, yeah."

"'Kay," she said, giving me one of her brilliant Alice grins and flitting off.

I turned back to my poster, smoothing down one of the edges and frowning slightly. _Contain myself, indeed._

++o++o++o++

A couple hours later, Rose, Alice and I were sitting on my bed, celebrating my newly cleaned and organized room with Chinese take-out and Netflix.

"So, how did the call with Edward go?" I asked Alice, quickly dipping my chopsticks into her bowl and stealing a water chestnut.

"He sounded really happy about it. Jenks sent us another copy of the lease last week so we could sign it again if we found another roommate, so we just have to get that to him with Edward's security deposit and he can start moving his things in whenever," she replied, using her chopsticks to defend her water chestnuts from my continuous thieving.

Mr. Jenks was the landlord. Alice and Rose had always spoken well of him and my brief interactions with him gave me the impression of an honest and kind man. That was definitely hard to come by in a landlord.

My escalating utensil battle with Alice was interrupted by a knock at the front door. The girls shrugged, apparently not expecting anyone, so I went to investigate.

The nice thing about the front door is that it has a little window along the top, so from upstairs you can peak around the corner and usually see the head of the person there without them seeing you.

And I saw jet black hair against deep tan skin.

I briefly considered slipping back into my room, but instead groaned in resignation and headed down the stairs.

My face was blank when I opened the door.

"Bella," Jake sighed, apparently relieved that it was me who opened the door. I couldn't blame him; I wouldn't have wanted to face Rosalie's wrath either.

I stepped out onto the porch and closed the door.

"Bella, I am so sorry. I was so wasted last night and I was a total dick to you. I should've been comforting you and making sure you were okay and I was just being an asshole. I'm really sorry."

He really did look beat up about it, which was probably due in part to the hangover he'd undoubtedly been nursing all day. But his eyes were genuine and pleading; I'd always been able to read his face well.

Still, I was annoyed. "Why did you just leave without saying anything? Why'd you wait all day to apologize?"

"I was angry and some part of me knew I was being irrational and ridiculous, so I thought it would be better if I just left. I don't know, I wasn't really thinking. And I didn't feel well enough to come until now."

I stared at him for a few seconds longer and then sighed, sitting down on the steps. He followed suit.

"I just freaked out, Bells. I hated the idea of you being in danger and not being there to protect you," he said softly.

"You can't always be around to protect me. And you can't get mad at me because of that," I said, though my voice had lost its edge.

"I know," he said, reaching out and squeezing my hand. "Forgive me?"

"Yeah," I replied, lightly squeezing his hand back.

"You wanna get some dinner or something?"

"I'm actually eating with the Ali and Rose right now. Maybe we can hang out later?"

He looked disappointed. "Oh. Yeah, sure. Just give me a call."

"Okay." We stood up at the same time and he surveyed my face for a second before pulling me in for a hug. It was warm and familiar, but not as comforting as usual.

He kissed my cheek as he pulled away. "I'll call you in a bit," I said.

I headed inside, stopping in the foyer to collect myself for a second. I felt... strange. Our make-ups were almost always this easy and I'd always kind of liked that - everything going back to normal in a matter of minutes. But I didn't feel "back to normal." I wasn't angry anymore, but I still felt unsettled somehow.

I decided to just push it away.

The girls were giving me inquisitive stares as I re-entered the room, flopping down and immediately digging back into my lo mein.

"Jake, I'm guessing?" Alice asked.

"Yeah. He apologized. We're fine," I said.

Rosalie looked like she really wanted to say something but was biting her tongue. I was glad. I didn't think I could handle it.

"So, next episode?" I asked. I pressed play without waiting for a response.

++o++o++o++

I woke up early the next morning. I had actually gone to bed at a decent hour; I told Jake I was too tired to hang out and curled up in bed, reading until I passed out. It felt like it had been so long since I had done that. Jake and I usually slept in the same bed and he needed total darkness to fall and stay asleep. I had just gotten used to it.

I headed downstairs to make coffee, which wasn't terribly necessary given that I was already wide awake and jittery. I was staring at the pot brewing, tapping my nails against the counter impatiently. Why was I so restless?

I decided to make use of my excessive energy by starting a batch of blueberry muffins from scratch. I made a quick trip to the grocery, grateful for its close proximity, and was soon tossing ingredients together, sipping my black coffee intermittently.

As I placed the first tin in the oven, I thought about the origin of that particular recipe. Renée, my mother, has always been terrible with anything that generally occurs in a kitchen, but decided to take a baking class on one of her random whims. She was supposed to bring in something she'd made for the last session and spent the night before ruining batch after batch before finally giving up. For some reason it made me really sad, so I sneaked down and made them while she was sleeping, wanting her to have something to bring in. I came down the next morning and half of them were gone - I started yelling and she came running in from the den, mouth full of muffin, crumbs trailing behind her.

"Well, I couldn't take them in, that would've been cheating!"

They'd been a staple ever since.

I refilled my coffee and considered slipping out back for a cigarette while I waited for the first batch to finish. The back porch was one of my favorite things about the house: it was fairly large and screened in, with a big plush couch, a few small chairs, a coffee table, and Christmas lights strung up all around.

I hurried upstairs as quietly as possible, grabbed my book and cigarettes and headed back through the kitchen..

Tucking everything into one arm, I opened the door... and immediately went flying backwards, falling on my ass, my things scattering everywhere.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

I squinted up at the figure that had been directly at the door, hand raised - I now realized - to knock.

Bronze hair and apologetic green eyes. _Of course_.


	6. Talk To Me Summer

I sighed. "No, it's fine, I was just startled...and terminally clumsy as shit," I said, starting to get back up.

He held out his hand. I stared up at him stupidly for a second before accepting. His grasp was firmer than I expected and I was on my feet in an instant, while he knelt down to gather my book, lighter and cigarettes.

"Thanks," I said, and he smiled.

A delicate fluttering down the stairs announced Alice's arrival at the scene. "Edward! Hey, sorry, I was a little late getting up. What was that crash?"

"Bella opened the door right as I was about to knock and I spooked her," he said, throwing a contrite glance my way.

"At least I wasn't holding my coffee. Would either of you like some, by the way? I made a big pot," I said, turning toward our cabinet of mugs. The three of us had somehow begun a habit of accumulating eccentric mugs and had quite the collection to show for it. I grabbed Alice's favorite, a huge brown one with poorly drawn cats dancing around the circumference.

"Mm, yes please. Oh my god, are you making those orgasmic blueberry muffins?" she squealed.

"Yup. They should be out in a couple minutes," I said, grabbing a mug for Alice and turning to Edward.

"Coffee?"

"Yes, please. I mean, if there's enough..."

I raised my eyebrow at him and held up the pot, full of eight freshly brewed cups. He laughed.

"You guys are big coffee drinkers, I take it."

"Oh yes. And you'd better have some absurd mugs to contribute," I said, unthinkingly selecting one of my own favorites (a round red one, slightly chipped, that I'd somehow kept in tact since age fifteen) and filling it.

"I do, actually," he said, grinning. "My dad's a doctor and goes to these medical conferences once a year. I've got a mug for just about every obscure disease out there."

"Do any of them have inappropriate diagrams?"

"There might be an inappropriate diagram or two."

I realized we were just sort of standing there, smiling at each other, so I coughed and went for the refrigerator. "Um, milk? Sugar?"

"Oh, no, just like that is fine," he said, taking the mug from me.

"Jesus, we're going to have TWO insufferable black coffee drinkers under one roof?" Alice groaned.

"I am not insufferable! Muffins! Muffins are what come of Bella and black coffee!" I said, peaking in the oven and poking one with a toothpick. They weren't quite done, so I pulled the tin out momentarily to pluck one out for Alice before sticking them back in to finish.

She let out a little chirp of excitement. Edward quirked an eyebrow, so she explained, "I like my baked goods slightly gooey in the middle. Bella always takes one out a couple minutes early for me."

"It's a pain in the ass when I'm making pumpkin bread, though," I said. "I have to make a special mini-tin for Alice and take it out at just the right time for maximum gooeyness."

"Achieving optimum goo-factor is a science, I'm sure," Edward mused.

I laughed. "Oh, there are charts and graphs involved, I assure you."

"So," Alice said through her muffin, "you all set to go by Jenks' place?"

"If I'd had any doubts, the pastries and mugs dispelled them," Edward said. "I'm ready whenever you are."

I hadn't known they were planning to turn the new lease in this morning; Alice, Rosalie and I had all signed the re-worked copy the night before, but no actual plan had been discussed. Ali probably assumed we'd still be sleeping in - she did usually tend to accomplish a full day's worth of tasks before we even got out of bed.

"You're welcome to come, too, Bella," she offered, swallowing a huge bite.

I deliberated for a moment. The thought of being in a car, just the three of us, made me... nervous? That didn't make sense. And I didn't really have any reason not to go along... I gave myself an internal head shake before saying, "Yeah, that sounds good. I'll just run and get my purse."

Once I got to my room, I caught my reflection in the full-length mirror on my closet door. _Great_, _Bella_. My hair was falling out of its loose ponytail, really accenting the ratty old Minor Threat tee and spandex bike shorts. Granted, the shorts made my ass look amazing, but it was still a pretty incongruous combo and not something I generally wore out of the house. I quickly threw on my cut-offs, wondering if I shouldn't change my shirt, then worried it would seem weird that I was so concerned about my appearance - then realized I was being fucking absurd, grabbed my bag and shot back down the stairs.

"Now Bella, how is Mister J going to appreciate your finely sculpted booty with all that denim over it?"

I blushed, but quickly recovered: "I'm pretty sure Jenks would keel over on the spot if any of us wore spandex around him, Al. A thick layer of denim is just me looking out for his health."

I shifted my gaze - Edward was very closely examining one of the chips in his mug. I moved to the oven, removing the muffins and switching it off.

"So, who's driving?" I asked, covering up the rest of the batter for later use.

"We can take my car," Edward offered.

"That nice shiny Volvo?" Alice inquired. "Sounds good to me."

After a few final swigs of coffee, the three of us traipsed out to the car and I felt the first twinges of panic: who was going to sit where? Why hadn't Alice screamed, "SHOTGUN" the second the vehicle was in sight as she always does? _Why did I care?_

As I internally agonized over this, she suddenly cried, "Oh, I forgot the lease, silly me!" and darted back toward the house. This left Edward and me standing at the car; he glanced back at her with a slight chuckle and climbed into the driver's seat.

_Damn it, Alice_. Now it would most certainly be weird for me to take the back seat and I couldn't feign politeness by offering it to her. God, why did it make me so fucking nervous?

I sighed and climbed in, buckling up and staring around uncomfortably. Edward started the car and suddenly thrust his iPod at me. "Passenger seat gets DJ privileges," he said, continuing to hold it towards me while throwing on a pair of black Ray Bans.

I probably would've been distracted by the, well, _totally fucking hot _effect of Edward in Ray Bans if he hadn't just thrown me into an even deeper panic. Oh, no. No no no no. Did he have any idea what he was asking? I couldn't just pick the music! We barely knew each other! It's one thing to make a playlist for a party, but to be put on the spot in the confines of a car with a person you've just met - that's a whole other playing field.

Apparently I had not concealed the look of horror on my face, because he burst out laughing. "I promise I won't judge you. That'd be pretty hard anyway, seeing as you're picking from _my_ music."

Alice reappeared then, shooting into the backseat as I grudgingly plucked the iPod from Edward's hand. As she settled in and Edward backed out, I tentatively turned it on.

Just seeing the first of his "A" bands was overwhelming. Seriously, man? Arcade Fire _and_ Andrew W.K.? Was he trying to kill me? I felt bogged down by the feeling of looking through someone's diary and finding my own handwriting. It unnerved me, so I dealt with the situation as any mature adult would:

I put my hand over my eyes and started scrolling.

Edward let out a laugh I hadn't heard yet: it came from his belly, deep and genuine. Somehow, I felt he understood. Alice must've peeked over, because I heard her say, "Honestly, Bella!" before I stopped scrolling and looked down to see what had been selected.

It was my turn to laugh.

"Hope you guys are down for some Screeching Weasel!" I said, continuing to laugh somewhat manically as I pressed play on _Anthem for a New Tomorrow_.

Alice was protesting quite vocally; Edward was shaking his head. "You like Screeching Weasel?" he asked, a hint of that particular grin playing on his face.

I smiled sheepishly. "Well, you know. They're one of those bands that you love when you're fourteen and you never really get over, I guess."

His grin broadened and his fingers began tapping along to the drums.

Except for a few groans and directions from Alice, we drove without speaking for several songs. I was surprised to find that I'd calmed down significantly and that the three of us riding around like this felt... normal. Natural. Kind of nice, even.

Alice finally reached her threshold halfway through "Peter Brady" and shimmied into the front to turn it down.

"Ol' 'No-Fun-Brandon' is what the kids are gonna start calling you," I said.

"Uh huh. At least I'm not trying to relive my 'anarcho-punk-rock' high school glory days or whatever," she retorted.

"FIRST OF ALL, no. And second of all, you're hardly one to talk - weren't you Little Miss Wiccan in high school?"

"Wait wait wait. I want to hear more about anarcho-punk-rock Bella," Edward said, looking mischievous.

"No!" I cried. "And it wasn't... ugh, it wasn't even like that. I just, you know, listened to a lot of punk and cut off all my hair and that kind of shit - and I would _hardly _call them my glory days!"

"Oooh, Edward, I'll have to show you pictures," Alice said, delighted.

"How the fuck do you have pictorial evidence?"

"I saved them to my computer before you could untag yourself from all of them on Facebook."

"You're a fucking creep," I said, crossing my arms.

Edward was looking at Alice in the rearview mirror. "So, tell me more..."

"Oh man! She used to wear these ridiculous white thermals with lyrics sharpied all over them and tight black pants with studded belts and - "

"OKAY, well at least I wasn't CONJURING THE UNDEAD AND SHIT," I yelled, reaching back and swatting at her.

Alice decided to take another route. "So, Edward, what were you like in high school?"

"Oh, _god_," he groaned, as though deeply regretting encouraging this conversation. "Uh, well... probably not too far off from Bella, honestly."

Alice clapped her hands as though this were the most delightful news she'd heard in months. I continued glaring.

"Turn here!" she suddenly called out, and I realized we were approaching Jenks' neighborhood.


	7. Combed Her Hair with a Blade

One great thing about Mr. Jenks is his brevity. He looked everything over, shook Edward's hand, and after assuring him everything was in working order at the house, we were on our way.

"I think he likes that we'll have a dude in the house again," Alice said, sliding into the back seat as though our places in the car had become some sort of unspoken rule.

"Yeah, I kind of picked up on that, too," I replied, rolling my eyes. "'Cause James was so good at protecting us meek little ladies."

"Ha! Remember when you passed out on the couch that one time and freaked out because you thought a raccoon was someone trying to break in?"

"And what if it had been? _ I_ would've taken care of that shit while James was doing whippets or whatever."

Alice grinned and leaned up toward Edward. "Rosalie and I found her in her underwear, holding a baseball bat and screaming at the front door about how she would 'fucking kill you fuckers I don't give a fuck.'"

Edward burst out laughing and I couldn't help but join him. It was pretty ridiculous.

"That's the main reason we invited you to live with us, Bell. I know you'll fucking kill some fuckers if the need arises."

"That I will," I said, throwing my chin up in mock haughtiness.

++o++o++o++

Edward started moving his things in later that day. As it turned out, his "things" comprised a very short list. I offered him my truck, thinking he'd have to make a few trips, but he came back in an hour with all his belongings in the bed.

I had been sitting on the back porch, drinking another mug of coffee and reading, when he pulled up out back. He started up the pathway, holding a huge aluminum box before apparently realizing his mistake and setting it down halfway to the porch.

"Need some help?"

He looked up, not having noticed me through the screen and let out a small, embarrassed chuckle.

"I always think I can get this on my own and it never works out that way," he admitted.

I opened the screen door and came over to him. "What is it?"

"My record collection. I just wanted to get it in first."

_Oh god, really? _I was starting to think this whole thing was an elaborate prank the girls had set up as some kind of fucked up initiation into officially living with them. I had to stop myself from asking how much he was getting paid.

"Of course. Well, I'll go open the door..." I said, heading for the little stairs that lead to the basement.

"Oh, I didn't even realize I'll have my own back door," Edward called after me.

"Yup. In fact, you'll never have to deal with us if you don't want to," I called back, throwing the door open and turning back around. "You've got that little stove, a full bathroom - you could get by without ever having to use the rest of the house, really."

He frowned slightly and I realized how rude that must have sounded. "Not that you _should_ do that!" I frantically backtracked. "Just, you know, if Ali's in one of her insane redecorating modes or we're having an Audrey Hepburn movie marathon or something..."

His frown vanished, replaced by a small smile. "Hey, I actually really like _Roman Holiday_."

I blinked at him, stunned.

"And _Charade _is great," he added, looking away from my stupid expression.

When words finally became doable again, I agreed. "Yeah, it's too bad she didn't do more comedies, I actually think she was best at that."

"Definitely."

We just stood there for a moment, doing that weird staring at each other thing before we both suddenly went for the box at the same time.

Our heads clunked together pretty forcefully and the sounds we made joined together in a single "Owwoomph" as we both leaned back up, clutching our heads.

"Sorry!" I cried, but it was lost in his laughter.

"Maybe you should just stay in the basement to avoid the impending doom of my proximity," I muttered, blushing even deeper.

His laughter trailed off, but he continued grinning. "I'll take my chances," he said, lifting the box and nodding towards the other side for me to grip. Some of the weight shifted into my arms and we started toward his door.

++o++o++o++

I would've offered more help moving Edward's things, but I felt like doing so would somehow result in the entire house burning down due to my clumsiness. Instead, I spent the rest of the afternoon doing ridiculous pampering-type things while listening to records. Side B of _Boxer _had just finished (it accented my deep conditioning / eye brow plucking surprisingly well) when I heard a little knock at the door.

It suddenly occurred to me that having a little peep-hole on my door would be helpful - I didn't mind Alice or Rose seeing me with pink gunk plastered all over my face, but what if it was someone else?

This train of thought immediately dissipated when a whiney "Bellaaaaaaa" came as a concentrated sound through the old-fashioned keyhole. I pulled the door open and was met Rosalie, on her knees with her hands cupped around on her mouth, where the keyhole had previously been.

"_Really_, Rose?"

She grinned up at me, getting back on her feet. "Well, I had knocked a few times but your music was too loud and I didn't want to just bust in."

She poked at my face mask. "You smell all citrus-y."

"It's that papaya grapefruit whatever-the-hell Alice got me. I'm not even sure what it's supposed to do, but it went along with the theme," I said, gesturing towards my blow-dryer and related items.

"I can't believe you're having a girlie-day without us!" she cried, affronted.

"It was totally impromptu! It was more just something to do to in order to steer clear of the moving."

She cocked her head, so I continued: "I nearly gave Edward a concussion trying to help earlier - I figured I'd take that as a sign."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, he has the stinky band-mates helping him now."

"All of them?" I asked, slightly panicked. Was Jake here? And why did that make me feel slightly panicked?

"Emmett and Jasper," she said, a slight grin playing at the corner of her lips.

"Oh yeah?" Only then did I assess what she was wearing: a tiny pair of stretchy red shorts with a skintight white tank top. Granted, we did hang around in clothes like that sometimes, but only when it was just the three of us. And her hair and make-up (it was subtle, but had obviously been considered) and the fact that she smelled like Chanel were enough to tip me off.

She had turned toward my mirror and was gingerly applying one of my lip stains. I shook my head, reached out and snapped one of the straps on her top.

"Hey!"

"You little tease, you!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said airily, lifting her chin.

"Uh huh. And how many times have you been _just so parched_, necessitating a conveniently timed trip to the fridge to get a nice cool glass of water for Emmett to watch you drink?"

She didn't even try to hide her grin this time and I chuckled. "That poor boy!"

"Oh, like you're one to talk!" she retorted as I headed to my bathroom to wash my face off. "In here all day, buffing and polishing and dousing yourself in super delicious edible scents."

My mouth fell agape beneath my washcloth. I quickly rinsed and looked up at her, frowning. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Just then, the other door in the bathroom - the one to Alice's room - swung open. She was holding a mascara wand and looking at us with her eyebrows slightly raised. "Oohh, you guys are getting all dolled up, too?"

"I am not getting 'all dolled up'!"

"Whatever, she totally is," snorted Rose.

"I washed my hair and put on a face mask, for fuck's sake!"

But Alice was inspecting the various products scattered about the bathroom, giving me an unspoken, "_Oh, really?_"

"Ugh! I really don't see how my wanting to have a nice relaxing vaguely spa-like day is at all comparable to Rose shimmying about in that outfit torturing Emmett."

Alice turned her discerning gaze on Rosalie and let out a single, "Ha!"

"What?" Rosalie half-yelled. "It's not like I'm in a Burlesque outfit doing the Can-Can in his face! This is totally subdued for me!"

"Yeah, to someone who doesn't really know you, this might seem all subtle-sexy, 'Oh I just woke up and threw this on to do some housework' or whatever. But we know you better," Ali said, turning towards the mirror.

Rose let out a little "pshhh," then decided it was Alice's turn for scrutiny. "And what about _you_, Miss Five-Layers-of-Mascara?"

"I have a huge crush on Jasper and I want to look good when I see him," she answered primly, putting the wand back into the bottle.

This shut Rose right up.

"Wow, blatant honesty during a round of three-way blame deflection? I never thought I'd see the day," I said, reaching for a cotton ball to wipe my face with toner.

"That takes all the fun out of it, though," Rose pouted, smoothing her hair.

The three of us were staring into the mirror now. Slowly, smiles crept across our faces until we all burst out laughing at the same time.


	8. Biomusicology

Once we stopped questioning each others' motives, the three of us sparked up a nice rhythm, filtering in and out of our rooms as we finished getting ready. I didn't really have anything to get ready _for _and had intended to end my whole pampering process with the face mask. Both Alice and Rosalie insisted that this was unacceptable.

"There's no reason for this!" I whined as Alice swiftly dragged a blush brush across my cheeks.

"Calm down, Bellini. I'm just putting a few accents on your already lovely features. I won't even gripe about whatever band tee you end up putting on and ruining those sexy curves with."

"Well, I'm not going to put on a ball-gown to sit around the living room, which is all I anticipate doing tonight."

"That probably is all we'll do tonight," Rose said, moving her foot around in one of my flats. "Movie night. Possibly with boys."

I huffed lightly. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy having ridiculous girl-time with them, but it just seemed... excessive, for me at least. It struck me as strange to be all buffed and bouffanted around Emmett and Jasper, who I usually just hung around in dingy basements and warehouses with, depending on the location of band practice.

Alice gave my face a final once-over and let out a little "Mhm!" that meant she was satisfied. Rose had evidently decided against my flats and slipped back into the kitten heels she'd initially picked out.

"Can I put a shirt on now?" I asked Ali.

"Oh, fine," she said, giving my bra strap a little snap before smoothing down the thin v-neck she'd put on. I smirked at her and started for my closet.

Suddenly, an ear-splitting knock resounded against my door. Shocked, I attempted to skid backwards from the sound and effectively spilled my ass onto the floor.

"THE FUCK ARE YOU ALL DOING IN THERE?"

I was still trying to catch my breath; Emmett apparently took the lack of immediate response as a green light to swing my door open without further inquiry.

"Damn, Bells, put a shirt on. We're in mixed company," he boomed.

I could only sputter in response. Thankfully, Rose was a bit quicker on the uptake and launched one of my flats right at his head.

"OW! Goddamn! It's not my fault Bella treats her home like a French beach!"

"IT'S _MY ROOM_, ASSHOLE!" I yelled.

"Alright, alright! I'll close my eyes until you're decent," he said, shoving his hand over his face.

"Or you could, you know, get out!" Rose exclaimed.

"No way, we're tired of waiting."

"Waiting for what, exactly?" I asked, finally standing back up and quickly grabbing a t-shirt from a bin in my closet.

"Short-stuff over there mentioned something about Star Wars and beer earlier - like we weren't going to stick around for that!" Emmett replied, hand still over his eyes. I wasn't sure if the disapproving click Alice made was in response to being called "short-stuff" or the baseball tee I'd donned, but I ignored it in favor of flicking Emmett's ear as hard as I could.

"FUCKING HELL!"

"That's the toll for seeing me topless, jerk."

"I barely even saw anything! Do you physically harm every dude who sees you at the beach?" he whined, rubbing his ear.

"One time she threw a sand-crab at a guy for pestering us," Alice chimed in.

She, Rose and I laughed while Emmett scowled at us, shaking his head. I hadn't even noticed Jasper coming up the stairs... followed by Edward.

"Sorry ladies, we told him not to come up," Jasper said, though he looked slightly amused.

"I don't know how you go anywhere with him, frankly," Rose quipped, inspecting her nails.

Emmett had opened his mouth to respond, but Jazz cut him off by making a noise of enthusiasm and plopping himself down by my records, asking, "Mind if I rifle through?"

"Fine, but no poking fun at my oldies comps," I warned. He threw up his hands in acquiescence.

"Oldies comps?" Edward piped up. He had slowly made his way into the room, obviously not as comfortable with barging in and going through my things as Em and Jazz.

"Yeah, I have this thing for old recordings of 60s radio shows... the ones with commercials and everything."

"Robert W. Morgan, Wolfman Jack, that kind of thing?"

My jaw dropped slightly. Before I could respond, Jazz had pulled out my copy of _Cruisin' '65 _and thrust it at Edward, chuckling.

"Oh man, this is great!" he exclaimed. Jasper muttered, "_Weirdos_" while he flipped through my Springsteen section. I noticed Alice had gravitated toward him and was sitting on the little ottoman by my record player.

Emmett suddenly flopped onto my bed, plucking up my stuffed koala.

"Who's this guy?"

"That's Buster and you may not play with him," I said, snatching him back and sitting down at the end of the bed.

"Bell, can you braid my hair for me?" Rose asked, already settling herself at my feet. I looked down at her, confused for a split-second - usually Alice was her go-to for hair-related matters. She lightly rolled her eyes and gave a minute nod in Ali's direction; she and Jasper were apparently having some sort of erotic staring contest. I held back a giggle and scooted to the edge of the bed, gently combing through her hair with my fingers.

"You sure you wanna trust her with that?" Emmett scoffed. "She'll probably find a way to set it on fire."

I stuck my tongue out at him before turning my attention back to Rose's hair. I may be clumsy as shit, but I can actually make a rather lovely French braid.

"Don't add to her complex, ass," Rose said, though I could hear the smile in her voice. "She locked herself up here all day for fear of somehow demolishing the house while you guys moved Edward's stuff in."

I yanked a little too hard on the lock of hair I'd just sectioned off.

"Oh, because of the box incident?" Edward cut in. I glanced over at him, feeling my face heat yet again. The corner of his mouth was hitched up in that goddamned grin, only adding to my annoyance. "Maybe," I grumbled out, turning away.

He let out a deep chuckle; my frown was threatening to cut into my eyes as my head snapped back toward him.

"I'm only mildly concussed, really," he said earnestly.

Emmett couldn't contain himself at that, practically rolling off the bed in his uncontrollable laughter. I noticed Rose's head bobbing beneath my fingers and let go of my carefully constructed braid with a huff.

"Traitor," I mumbled, flicking the back of her head. This only served to send her into a much louder fit of giggles.

"Are you all making fun of my Bellini?" Alice interjected.

"I would never," Edward responded, his face composed in faux-seriousness.

Before I realized what I was doing, I threw Buster the Koala right at his face. "Dick!"

Everyone had started laughing at that point; unfortunately, it masked the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. I was not at all prepared for my bedroom door swinging open and the awkward silence that followed.

"Uh, hey. Didn't realize there was some kind of party over here," Jake said, gruff and clearly offended.

Emmett cleared his throat, obviously preparing to diffuse the situation; I opened my mouth in response as well, but Jake narrowed his eyes at me: "I've called you about twenty times."

I looked away - I hadn't even heard my phone ring.

"Her phone's in my room," Rose said. "Her charger was in there from the other night so I plugged it in earlier."

"Whatever. I thought we were practicing today?" He'd turned his eye on Emmett.

"Dude, I told you we were helping Edward move in," he retorted nonchalantly.

"Getting his stuff out of the rental space? So we could start practicing _there_?" Jasper said, trying to lighten the mood by stating the obvious.

Jake just rolled his eyes. "Alright, so are we having practice tonight then?"

Alice let out an indignant squeal. I'm pretty sure she would have stomped her foot had she been standing.

"We _finally _beat Rose at this game and so help me god, Jacob, if you take this away from me..."

Now he just looked confused and slightly intimidated; I couldn't help but laugh, the sound drowning out Rose's grumbles.

"She made an inadvertent Star Wars reference, so she is now obligated to watch it," I stated, hoping enough sci-fi talk would relieve the tension.

"I'm assuming this is some kind of pact you all made?" Edward said, apparently taking my cue.

"I don't even care what the circumstances leading to it are - we are drinking beer and watching _A New Hope _whether anyone present likes it or not!" Emmett declared.


	9. In the Daylight

Jake was clearly conflicted: he'd come over with the goal of both guilt-tripping me and gathering the guys up for practice, but I knew he couldn't turn down Star Wars and beer. I'm sure he was also well-aware that he'd never come out on top if he went head to head with Alice.

"Alright, fine," he said with a sigh, leaning against the door jamb with his arms crossed.

Jasper glanced at his watch. "We should probably go ahead and run to the store then. Are you ladies sticking with wine tonight or would you like us to grab you something?"

"I'm actually in a Blue Moon sort of mood, myself," I said.

"Mmm, that sounds great," Ali agreed. Directing her attention back to Jazz and batting her eyelashes, she asked, "Could you get us a couple six packs and some oranges?"

"Of course," he said, laying the whole Southern Gentleman thing on pretty thick.

"Is that okay with you?" I asked Rose as I secured the end of her hair.

"Make them organic Tuscan blood oranges, won't you please, Jasper?" Rose purred, exaggerating her lash-batting and pouting her lips. Ali shook her head, a death-glare on her face as everyone started laughing. Even Jake let out a little snort.

"As you wish," Jazz replied with a small bow.

I gave Rose's braid a playful tug. "All done! Let me grab some cash for the beer."

"I'll get some, too," Ali said. We all started to stand and disperse, the boys heading downstairs and the girls hurrying to their rooms to gather the money.

I was rifling through my purse, trying to find my wallet. I honestly can't figure out how it always ends up filled with so many useless items. What on earth was a ball of twine doing in there? I tossed it to the side, then jumped when I heard a throat being cleared.

Jake was standing by the door, which was now shut. I thought he had gone downstairs with the rest of the guys.

"So, is everything okay with us?"

I wasn't sure what to say to that. I mean, yeah, things were fine. Right? I just hadn't been glued to my phone, waiting on him to call, which apparently he'd become accustomed to.

I shrugged my shoulders lightly. "Yeah."

"I feel like I've barely seen you lately. And usually you answer when I call or get back to me pretty quickly. I don't know, things just feel... weird."

"I'm sorry, I guess I've just been busy with getting settled in here and all."

He stared at me another moment before relaxing slightly. "Yeah, okay."

There was a knock on my door - the lightness and rapidity told me it must be Alice. Jake turned to open it and she stood there, waving a fist of bills in her hand and smiling.

"Oh, just a sec," I said, finally locating my wallet, extracting some cash and handing it to Ali, who quickly flitted off.

I shifted my eyes to the floor. I could feel Jake stare at me for a long moment; his dissatisfaction with my explanation was palpable even without meeting his gaze, but I didn't know what else to say. Finally, he sighed and turned to follow Alice down the stairs.

I stood by my door, feeling the need to regroup for a moment. It was kind of overwhelming, how much the mood in the house shifted with Jake's arrival - like a single cloud blocking out the sun in an otherwise clear sky. He used to have the opposite affect on me... on everyone, really. I knew he was frustrated with how I brushed off his concerns, but it wasn't like we could have some big talk about things right then. And really, a day or two apart from each other wasn't the end of the world. We've both been settling into new places, getting adjusted and whatnot, so my explanation was hardly unreasonable.

A small cough at my side startled me and I turned to find Alice staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Did the guys already head to the store?" I asked, blinking a few times. I didn't realize how deep in thought I'd been.

"Yeeees," she replied, drawing it out as though speaking to a child. "You alright?"

"Yeah, sorry, I just..." My mouth hung open, unsure of how to continue.

Alice's expression shifted to something I couldn't quite place; it was somewhere between "desperately trying to hold one's tongue" and "pity," which, frankly, made no sense whatsoever. I really wasn't in the mood to pull her teeth, though, so I plastered on a smile and said, "You have your copy of _A New Hope_ ready, or should I grab mine?"

++o++o++o++

The boys returned quickly, various types of beer in hand. Alice playfully snatched the bag of oranges from Jasper, dancing off to the kitchen to start slicing them up. Edward and Rosalie started a little assembly line, loading the fridge up with six-packs. I plucked some glasses from the cabinet (my standard of usefulness, apparently) and soon we were all headed back to the living room.

There was sort of a weird pause as everyone stared at the seating options; unsure of what to do, I focused my attention on loading the DVD, taking a bit too long for such a simple task. Emmett and Alice started arguing about her taste in furniture and by the time I turned back around, everyone had settled in: Alice and Jasper were in one of her roomier art deco chairs, Rose had chosen the smaller one, Emmett was sprawled out on the floor, while Jake and Edward were on either side of the couch... leaving me with one option. Jake looked up at me expectantly, so I sat down on the middle couch cushion, feeling a heightened awareness of my own body that left little room for comfort.

As Alice pressed play, Rose let out an extremely long-suffering sigh.

"Oh, hush," Ali scolded.

"The bet didn't specify that I had to be _pleasant_ about it," Rose retorted with a glare.

Emmett laughed before asking, "Wait, so how exactly does it work? Does Rosalie have to watch the original trilogy, just Episode IV or all six?"

Ali and I burst into incoherent yelling at the exact same time, resulting in a jumble of: "DON'T EVEN TALK TO ME ABOUT- EMMETT HOW DARE YOU- ABOMINATIONS OF THE FILM MEDIUM- FUCK PRESENT DAY GEORGE LUCAS AND HIS STUPID TURTLENECKS- SHOOT HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN IN HIS WHINY FACE!"

"Jesus! Tell us how you really feel, you fucking nerds," Emmett said, looking between us with wide eyes.

I noticed the cushions vibrating lightly to my side and realized Edward was doubled over in laughter. He sucked in a breath and said, "I mean, it's _true_."

"You filtered out an actual argument from that outburst?" Rose asked. She looked sincerely confused.

Edward eyed her for a moment before saying, "I'm honestly not sure how to explain it to someone who has made a point to avoid the franchise entirely."

"The guy responsible for the original trilogy..." Alice began.

"...which is AWESOME," I interjected.

"...made a prequel trilogy later on..."

"...that was like a three-course meal of various kinds of shit served on very fancy platters," I concluded.

Rose just peered at us over a giant gulp of beer. "Okay, whatever, I honestly don't care."

"Well, you guys just talked over the intro, so now she's not going to have a clue what's going on anyway," Jake pointed out.

"These movies aren't exactly complex," Jasper said with a laugh. "I think she'll be able to keep up."

"Really? I've always considered _A New Hope_ to be on par with _Mulholland Drive_ in terms of cinematic complexity," I said with a grin.

Edward laughed. "Now I'm imagining what the prequels would have been like if David Lynch had directed them."

"Who the fuck is David Lynch?" Jake asked.

"Would you all just shut up and watch?" Emmett's demand quieted us all down, the sound of beers being swigged and epic orchestral music replacing our voices.

++o++o++o++

Two hours and several bottles later, everyone turned to Rose for her reaction. She delicately drained her cup, licked her lips and cocked her head slightly before saying, "I just don't get all the fuss about Han. Luke is way hotter."

This "Alice & Bella" outburst put the first one to shame. I doubt anyone could even pick out single words, so grand was our ire and disbelief. As Ali stopped to take a breath, however, my statement of, "I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU!" rang out loud and clear.

Rose just shrugged, unmoved by our fury. "Maybe it's the light sabre."

"Oh, you WOULD turn this all Freudian and phallic," Alice huffed.

"I would much rather have Han's blaster."

"Damn Bella, we all know how much you want that blaster, you don't have to keep talking about it," Emmett said. Rose apparently found this absolutely hilarious.

Jazz nodded towards Jake. "I'd be a little worried, if I were you."

I rolled my eyes, assuming Jake would just come back with some cocky innuendo regarding space-weapon size. When he didn't immediately respond, I looked over at him; he let out a little scoff and muttered, "Yeah."

Fucking awkward.

Never one for uncomfortable silence, Emmett let out a belch before asking if we were going to watch the next one.

"Hell no, are you kidding me?" Rose cried. "A marathon viewing was never part of the deal."

"And I want to draw this whole thing out for as long as possible, anyway," Ali said with a devious smirk.

Jazz started stretching out his arms, saying, "I'd better head out, anyhow - I still need to pick up some books before Thursday and I wanna get up early to beat the masses."

"Ooh, I need to do that, too." Alice was getting downright shameless.

"Well, how about I swing by here around eight and we can go together?" he replied with a smile.

"Sounds good!"

Everyone started to stand and clear away glasses and bottles, gravitating towards the kitchen and back door. Rose said goodnight, somehow managing to exit and walk up the stairs in a seductive manner that was clearly not lost on Emmett. As Jasper and Alice finalized their plans, Em turned to Jake and asked if he wanted a ride home.

"Uhh..." he said, glancing at me.

Oh shit, I was supposed to give him some kind of indication of whether I wanted him to stay the night.

While I floundered, he looked back at Em and said, "Nah, it's cool man, I'm only a couple blocks away."

"Alright dude, practice tomorrow?"

"Sure thing."

"Edward?"

Edward was at the sink, rinsing bottles and tossing them in the recycling. "Yeah man, is around three okay?"

"Works for me. 'Night Bells," Em said, throwing in a hair tussle before opening the door and practically dragging Jasper along with him.

"Thank you for the hospitality, ladies!" he called behind him. I generally hate it when guys use the term "ladies," but somehow Jazz manages to do it without sounding condescending.

"You're quite welcome!" I called back. Alice was apparently too deep in her daze.

Once she snapped out of it, she shut the door and floated off with a dreamy "Night night, everyone," leaving me, Jake and Edward alone in the kitchen.

Edward rinsed the last bottle, tossed it and turned around. Part of me wanted to suggest some other activity so I didn't have to face the looming bedtime scenario, but he quickly appraised the two of us before saying, "Well, I guess I'm gonna turn in, too. 'Night guys."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Jake said. Edward did a little drum-roll motion at him, nodded at me and headed for the basement door.

Once it shut behind him, Jake looked down at me and asked, "So, can I stay over?"

I honestly didn't have any reason to tell him no; we used to sleep at each others' places all the time and I couldn't use my "girls night" excuse. Wait, why was I looking for an excuse in the first place?

"Um, yeah, sure."

He raised his eyebrow slightly. "Okaay…"

As I locked the doors, turned out the lights and we headed upstairs, I tried to figure out what my reservations were. Maybe it was just that things were still tense, or maybe I had just really been enjoying reading myself to sleep and taking up the whole bed. I needed to shake it off - I was being ridiculous.

Once we were in my room, he immediately started taking off his pants. I knew he was just getting ready for bed, but it still felt weird somehow. I slipped into the bathroom to brush my teeth, taking a little more time than necessary. It occurred to me that it had been… a while, since we'd last had sex. We'd been pretty busy, visiting our parents and moving and all that. He probably just assumed it would be happening tonight, which wasn't exactly out of line; my sex drive had always matched (if not exceeded) his and our Doin' It schedule used to be fairly solid. Sure, there were times where one of us would be too tired or headachey or whatever, but even that was rare.

I took a deep breath, assessed my mood and realized… I totally did not want to have sex with my boyfriend and it had nothing to do with headaches or sleepiness. In fact, I was actually feeling a bit sexually frustrated and probably could've used the outlet, but the thought of going back into my room and doing anything of that nature with Jake wasn't doing _anything_ for me.

I had never really felt this about him before… or lacked a feeling, I suppose. I mean, it's totally normal for a person to not be "in the mood," but this seemed different somehow.

A knock brought me out of my reverie. "Didja fall in?"

Well, even if I HAD been in the mood, that certainly would have killed it.

"Yup. I'm drowning. Help, help," I deadpanned as I shimmied out of my clothes. Leaving them on the floor, I grabbed my gigantic (and decidedly un-sexy) robe off its hook and wrapped myself up tightly.

When I opened the door, he was standing next to the bed in just his boxers. I took in the image, willing my body to respond to it, but it was like looking at a statue – I couldn't feel anything beyond a basic appreciation for the aesthetic quality.

"Ready for bed?" he asked.

No. "Yeah."

I climbed in after him and he quickly moved us into a spooning position, enveloping me in his big arms. I closed my eyes, wishing I really was tired.

After a minute or so, his hand began trailing up and down my body, molding his palm to my curves. It wasn't long before I felt his dick pressing into me. I tried, one last time, to breathe deeply, relax and let myself enjoy being touched, but it was futile. I felt nothing.

He continued the circuit with his hand, becoming more insistent. I had no idea how to treat the situation and my lack of response was obviously confusing him.

"Bella?" he whispered.

"I - I'm sorry, Jake, I'm just… so exhausted," I finally said, cringing inwardly at having used such a cliché excuse.

His hand immediately stilled. "Seriously?"

"Yeah." I mean, I could be really tired. For all he knew, I'd actually helped with all the moving today.

I felt his body stiffen (not like _that_) and he abruptly turned completely away from me.

What the hell? I mean, I could understand feeling a little hurt at getting shot down, but really? Getting ANGRY at someone for not wanting to have sex with you is completely fucking unacceptable. And what, he didn't even want to touch me if it wasn't going to end in him getting off? Fuck. That.

I stared at the wall, pissed off at his reaction but not really having it in me to start an argument about it. I felt strangely resigned; I stared at the exact same blank spot until my eyelids finally drooped.

++o++o++o++

When I woke the next morning, I immediately noted the sprawl of my arms and legs - I was taking up far too much room for Jake to still be in bed. I glanced up at my clock, surprised to find it was only nine. Jake never got up before noon if it could be helped.

It was actually fairly sunny outside and I figured if I was awake, I might as well be productive. I certainly wasn't going to lay around moping all day over Jake and his shitty little tantrum.

I was all sweaty and gross from having that stupid robe on all night, so despite my body's desperate cries for coffee, I ripped it off and took a quick, cool shower. The aroma of fresh apples from my shampoo and conditioner instantly calmed me down; something about that smell always made me feel better.

I stood in front of my closet wrapped in a towel and realized I didn't even want to put clothes on, given the oppressive humidity that even my giant window-unit couldn't compete with. I rifled through my things, knowing I didn't want to deal with denim or sleeves and ending up in stretchy shorts and an old Clash tank. Catching myself in the mirror, I thought of Jake's stupid, "Put some clothes on" comment and snorted derisively. Like he had some sort of agency over my body – pshh.

I decided to let my hair air-dry; grabbing my planner, notebook, some books and pens, I headed down to the kitchen. Classes started the next day and I wanted to be as prepared as possible.

The unmistakable smell of coffee filtered through the entire downstairs. Alice must've made some before heading out with Jasper. As I got to the kitchen, I noticed music playing - from the porch, it sounded like. And, wait, was that Talib Kweli? Hmm…

I set my things down on the counter, glancing at the almost-full pot of coffee before gently opening the back door and peering out.

Edward was sitting on the couch in a plain white t-shirt and black gym-shorts, a notebook in his lap and textbook propped open at his side. He was drumming his pen on the edge of the table, perfectly in time with the beat, and frowning in concentration behind, _oh god_, black framed glasses. This was too much.

He glanced up just as I was slipping back inside. "Oh, hey!"

I cleared my throat. "'Morning."

He turned down the iPod player that was sitting next to his mug on the table. "I made some coffee," he grinned.

"I noticed. Is that all for you, or…?"

"Hah, no. Well, maybe, but I guess I can spare some."

"Gee, thanks," I said, leaving the door open while I fixed myself a cup. Now I wasn't sure what to do – I didn't want to interrupt his studying, but it seemed like it'd be sort of rude for me to just grab the coffee and go back to my room.

Then I felt him behind me, his hand reaching for the pot I'd just finished pouring from. I turned and handed it to him, his fingers slipping over mine to grip the handle while I released it.

That stupid fucking tingle was really starting to unnerve me.

"Oh, were you doing some work for tomorrow, too?" he asked, nodding toward my things on the counter.

"Yeah, I just figured I'd set up my planner and take some notes and stuff. Be_ that_ kid in the class, you know," I said.

"It's okay to be that kid, you just have to seem like the type who beat that kid up in high-school."

"Oh, are you also teaching 'Being Cool: A History' in your spare time?"

He smirked at me, placing the pot back in the coffee maker. "I teach that all day, every day just by existing."

I blinked at him a few times.

"What?"

"Oh, sorry, I just got on image of you as The Fonz. Do you do that 'Ehhh' thing in the mirror every morning?"

"I'm not sure how I feel about being compared to a middle aged dude in a leather jacket constantly lurking around high schoolers."

"Really? That's Cool 101, last I checked," I said, raising my eyebrow and taking a sip of my coffee.

"It's a good thing I moved in; you obviously need a refresher course."

"I'm sorry I created this little metaphor."

"You should be."

I shook my head, turning back to my books as he pivoted toward the door. "Here, I'll clear up some space for you."

"Oh! Um, you don't ha… I mean, I don't want to disturb you or anything."

"Why would you be disturbing me?"

I didn't really know how to answer that, so I went ahead and grabbed my things.

"You can change the music, if you want, or just turn it off."

"No way, I always listen to socio-political underground hip-hop while I'm studying," I said passively.

I could feel him staring at me, so I glanced up. The look on his face said, _I think you're bullshitting me, but maybe you're not_.

I laughed. "Okay, usually I go for a more Sam Beam-y vibe when I'm concentrating, but Talib is fine, too."

He nodded with a smirk and returned his attention to his books.

I started flipping through my planner, color-coding my schedule and mapping out the fastest routes between classes. I was pretty stoked to have most of my Gen Eds out of the way and have my schedule consist almost solely of Journalism and Photography classes. Unfortunately, there wasn't much in the way of Photo-Journ specific courses at Portland U, so I was kind of just taking what I could get and mashing it all together. Obviously it would've helped if I'd had any idea what I wanted to major in when I actually started college, but I mean, who does, really? 18-year-old anarcho-punk me barely even wanted to attend college, thinking it was a huge waste of money for shit I could teach myself. I'll never forget the look on Charlie's face when I brought that point up over dinner.

"Photo-Journalism, huh?" Edward asked, tapping one of my books.

"I like writing and I like taking pictures - it made the most sense," I said with a small shrug.

He nodded. "Any particular type of journalism?"

I'd opened my mouth to respond when he said, "You strike me as the Gonzo sort."

I paused in my highlighting and stared up at him, stunned. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

And I meant it. Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail was the book that inspired me to go this route; Hunter S. Thompson, the father of Gonzo journalism, is my ultimate role-model. How the fuck could Edward even gather enough about me to make that assessment?

I realized we were both still staring at each other when the door of the porch flew open.


End file.
